Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says he could substitute his goalkeeper in the middle of a match in the future if the...

Pope Francis has opened the door for the first time to blessing same-sex unions in a cautious step away from the Catholic Church’s traditional attitude towards gay couples. Maintaining that the Church would crucially not recognise gay marriage, the Pope made his opinion known in answer to doctrinal questions from five conservative cardinals who challenged him to affirm teaching on homosexuality. His statement comes ahead of major Vatican meeting where LGBT+ Catholics are on the agenda, and at a time when several progressive priests in a number of countries have begun blessing same-sex couples in defiance of conservative archbishops. The Catholic Church considers homosexuality “intrinsically disordered” and the Pope has long opposed gay marriage, claiming marriage can only happen between a man and woman. However, his remarks could signal a change in trajectory with the potential for blessings of unions distinct from marriage. In a letter, published yesterday, he said: “We cannot be judges who only deny, push back, exclude.” Pope Francis was sent the set of formal questions known as “dubia“ or doubts ahead of the Vatican synod, which will begin on Wednesday to decide the future direction of the Church and the inclusion of LGBT+ Catholics. The Vatican subsequently published a letter Francis wrote to the cardinals on 11 July, where he suggested that such blessings could be considered if they didn’t confuse the blessing with marriage. Francis in his seven-point response said the Church was very clear that marriages could be only between a man and a woman and that the Church should avoid any other ritual that contradicted his teaching. He said "pastoral charity should permeate all our decisions and attitudes", adding that "we cannot be judges who only deny, reject and exclude". "For this reason, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of benediction, requested by one or more persons, that do not transmit a mistaken conception of marriage," he wrote. "Because when a benediction is requested, it is expressing a request for help from God, a plea to be able to live better, a trust in a father who can help us to live better." He noted that there are situations that are objectively "not morally acceptable". The Church teaches that same-sex attraction is not sinful but homosexual acts are. The pope's response marks a reversal from the Vatican's current official position. In 2021 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said flat-out that the Church couldn't bless gay unions because "God cannot bless sin". New Ways Ministry, which advocates LGBT+ Catholics, said the letter "significantly advances" efforts to make the community welcomed in the Church and is "one big straw towards breaking the camel's back". Francis DeBernardo, executive director of the ministry, in a statement, said the pope's words implied "that the church does indeed recognise that holy love can exist between same-gender couples, and the love of these couples mirrors the love of God". With agency inputs Read More Catholic priests have held a ceremony blessing same-sex couples in defiance of a German archbishop 5 conservative cardinals challenge pope to affirm church teaching on gays and women ahead of meeting Women's voices and votes loom large as pope opens Vatican meeting on church's future Things to know about the Vatican's big meeting on the future of the Catholic Church Clergy abuse survivors propose new 'zero tolerance' law following outcry over Vatican appointment 5 conservative cardinals challenge pope to affirm church teaching on gays and women ahead of meeting

David Haye believes the smoothest and possibly only route to an undisputed world heavyweight title fight is by Daniel Dubois pulling off a major upset against Oleksandr Usyk this weekend. Usyk, the WBA, IBF and WBO champion, will take on mandatory challenger Dubois in Wroclaw, Poland, on Saturday after negotiations for a showdown against WBC belt holder Tyson Fury broke down earlier this year. Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder were also at an impasse when they held the major world titles, with Lennox Lewis the last recognised undisputed champion in the division nearly a quarter of a century ago. Competing interests have often got in the way, but Haye pointed out Dubois and Fury are both represented by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and argued a fight between the duo should be simpler to make. Haye told the PA news agency: “It feels like we’ve had three or four opportunities where the fighters with the belts could have come together and done a deal. For whatever reason, it hasn’t materialised. “We’re in a position where if Dubois wins on Saturday night, one promotional entity holds the champions of all of the belts – there would never be an easier time, politically, to make the undisputed fight. “If Usyk wins, is Tyson Fury ever going to fight Usyk? I don’t know. For one reason or another, it doesn’t seem like it’s gelling. If it hasn’t happened by now, is it going to happen? Probably not. “We want to know who’s number one. If Dubois wins then that makes it possible and the fight fans finally, after all of these years, will have one champion with all of the belts.” Haye recognises Dubois has a mountainous challenge ahead of him, with Usyk a prohibitive favourite to retain his world titles and extend his unblemished professional record to 21 wins from as many bouts. Usyk’s dazzling footwork and blurring hand speed from a southpaw stance has led to many suggesting the heavy-handed Dubois has just a puncher’s chance despite having height and weight advantages. However, Haye feels Dubois (19-1, 18 knockouts) has nothing to lose and that his learning curves in a loss to Joe Joyce in 2020 and having to get up off the canvas three times before stopping the lightly-regarded Kevin Lerena last December are hugely beneficial for the Londoner’s chances heading into this weekend. Haye, who alongside Usyk and Evander Holyfield are the only fighters to have won world cruiserweight and heavyweight titles, added: “I like the fact there’s no pressure on Dubois whatsoever. “He’s got everything to gain. Nobody is expecting him to be able to cause an upset here. He has the firepower, all he needs is one punch, one clean shot. “He had a very interesting fight against Kevin Lerena where he was put down early from a southpaw who was a former cruiserweight. “He understands that he’s bigger and stronger but he can be hurt, that was the best thing for him because it gives him the reality of what he’s putting himself in [when he takes on Usyk]. “It looks from the outside like a mission impossible but I’m liking what I’m hearing from him – he’s talking about making it rough and uncomfortable for Usyk and that’s exactly what he needs to do. “He may get dropped or hurt or some facial damage but he’s going to need to work through that to get to the promised land if he wants an opportunity to seriously gatecrash the heavyweight division.” Watch Usyk v Dubois exclusively live on TNT Sports Box Office on Saturday 26 August. Learn more at www.tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Underdog Daniel Dubois looks back in bid to take big step forward Iain Henderson wants Ireland team-mates to prove they deserve World Cup spot Eddie Howe urges Bruno Guimaraes to learn from social media criticism

Frank Lampard said he believes the standards at Chelsea have dropped after he signed off as interim manager with a 1-1 draw against Newcastle. The result means Lampard failed to register a single home victory during his second spell in charge, with his last win as manager at Stamford Bridge still a 3-1 triumph over West Ham in December 2020. It took a Kieran Trippier own goal, the defender deflecting the ball into the net midway through the first half, to cancel out Anthony Gordon’s early strike. This was at least an improved performance from Chelsea, particularly in the second half where they played with an attacking initiative rarely seen under Lampard. The young trio of Noni Madueke, Lewis Hall and substitute Carey Chukwuemeka especially played with the maturity to take charge of the game and drive their team on, after a first half in which Newcastle had made Chelsea look ordinary. That has happened too often this season, especially at home where there have been six Premier League defeats and only 20 goals scored, the same number as Bournemouth and three fewer than relegated Leicester. Lampard said he had recognised early in his tenure that leadership and cohesion were lacking among a bloated squad, and hoped that a new manager – expected to be Mauricio Pochettino – would be able to slim down and galvanise the first-team group. “The standards collectively have dropped,” said Lampard. “I can be honest about that now that it’s my last game, I might not see some of them that much anymore. “The standards of the collective for a club like Chelsea have to be at the maximum or you won’t be physically competitive enough, or you won’t be able to play at a high level… high speed in a way that the Premier League demands. “If you’re not together in the dressing room, and you’re not vocal in the dressing room, driving each other and competitive because I want your place and you want mine. Any top team has to have that. “When I came in very quickly I could see that wasn’t there enough. Of course a very good manager will help that, but everyone has to take responsibility, players and club alike.” Chelsea’s form has nosedived since Lampard was appointed on April 6, with problems that had been apparent under former manager Graham Potter having only been exacerbated. Todd Boehly’s whirlwind transfer activity during his first year of ownership has produced a squad of 34 first-team players that both managers have said proved hugely challenging to work with. It has contributed to Chelsea recording a first bottom-half finish since 1996 and a record low tally of points and goals scored in the Premier League era. “It’s clear there are things I would see that need to improve,” said Lampard. “A new manager will see with his own eyes and the beauty of it is he’ll have a pre-season to work with the team, they need that. “We’re not physically competitive enough. Newcastle are and we haven’t been. That’s a strong opinion that I have. “The squad has been too big, that’s the biggest challenge I’ve found day to day, coming in and working with big numbers, and with players who for whatever reason are disillusioned, whether for right or wrong that they’re not playing, (or) they might be leaving. Those situations can maybe be sorted out now and they have to be.” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe, whose team had already secured qualification for next season’s Champions League ahead of the game at Stamford Bridge, said a first season in 20 years in Europe’s top competition would help loosen the transfer restrictions placed on his club by Financial Fair Play rules. “FFP will impact what we do this summer,” he said. “Without Champions League football it would have been difficult to do much in the market at all. The fact we have that has given us a bit of a lift. “The most important people are the players we already have. I’m the type of manager who tries to get the best out of everyone under our employment. We’re looking to add quality, we’re not huge payers of wages in the Premier League, it makes it hard to attract the very best players. “We need more depth. With three games in a week next year we’re going to be stretched.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Erik ten Hag backs Man Utd to win FA Cup and end neighbours City’s treble charge Liverpool will be Premier League contenders again next season – Jurgen Klopp Roy Hodgson: For Crystal Palace to finish much higher would be hell of an ask

The Division 2 Talent list includes hundreds of talents, with close to 50 in gear alone. Here's what you need to know about gear talents.

A father has been accused of setting his children up for years of confusion and bullying after he revealed the name of his new baby daughter. The mother of his first child explained what had happened in a lengthy Reddit post, branding his behaviour “f**king weird” and “spineless”. The Redditor began by offering some context, explaining: “I ended up falling pregnant with my 10-year-old daughter during a drunken hook-up with a friend in my mid 20s.” She added: “When we found out we decided to keep the child and co-parent while remaining friends. We were never a couple and we didn't want to be one either.” She then said that the dad and his partner of four years fell pregnant last year, and that she wanted her daughter and the new baby “to have a close relationship despite having different mothers”. “All in all, I thought everything was great and I was excited for my daughter to have a sibling as she's always wanted one but I had no interest in having another child,” she continued. Then, three days before her Reddit post, the woman said the dad’s girlfriend gave birth to a baby girl and they asked her to bring her daughter to the hospital to meet her new sister. “I did exactly that but when they introduced us to the baby I was shocked,” she wrote. This was because they’d given their little girl the exact same name as the first daughter. “[The girlfriend] didn't seem to have any issue with this when she introduced the baby bold as brass,” the Redditor recounted. However, she acknowledged: “My friend seemed uncomfortable and wouldn't look at me directly.” “I asked them what they were playing at, at which point my friend’s father said he'd take my daughter down to the cafeteria to get something to eat and left with her,” she went on. “My friend told me to calm down and not overreact while his girlfriend told me she didn't see the issue and it was a pretty name.” She then asked them whether they named the baby in honour of the older daughter – in an attempt to “understand the logic here” – but the girlfriend simply replied that “no, it was just a pretty name she liked”. “I then asked if they planned to use a nickname or a middle name when addressing to her on a daily basis and her response was that she didn't see a need for that,” the outraged mum continued. “I told them they were being ridiculous and that they couldn't do this, I then told his girlfriend that I found this frankly creepy and told my friend he was being spineless if he was happy to go along with this. “He tried to claim our daughter could use a nickname or something but I shut that down immediately, asking why it was more reasonable for a girl who has used that name for a decade to [change] her name compared to a baby who had no concept of what a name was yet.” Wrapping up her post, the Redditor went on: “His girlfriend told me I was being a b***h talking to her like that after she just gave birth and asked the nurses to remove me saying I was being disruptive.” She concluded by stressing: “I know that what they want to name their child is their choice [...] but this is one name that should be off limits or adjusted, they even have the same surname as they have the same father. “Something about it just felt malicious and deliberate as if [the girlfriend] is trying to replace my daughter.’ Her post on the AITA forum racked up more than 23,000 upvotes and 4,100 comments in just two days as readers voiced their horror at the father and girlfriend’s behaviour. “The same FIRST and LAST name is going to cause both those girls a life time of issues, especially with the same father,” one wrote. “ I usually would have a bit more sympathy for a woman who just gave birth but she seemed deliberately cold and cruel towards your daughter (her step daughter) to have done this.” Another suggested the mum should take legal action, saying: “I would tell your daughter's father that you will be going for full custody of your daughter and taking him for child support because you can no longer trust him to do the right thing by your daughter. “How can you trust that he wouldn't allow his [girlfriend] to treat your daughter poorly based on this behaviour?” they asked, adding: “I'm sorry but your daughter is never going to get treated right by her father's gf, she is already trying to replace your daughter by giving her daughter the same name.” A third agreed, accusing the dad of “thinking his partner is more important than his daughter”, and asking: “If this is how he's going to be now, how is he going to be when she's treating [the first] daughter like s**t?” And a fourth advised the mother to change her daughter’s surname to her own, writing: “I suggest you look into changing your daughter's surname to your own surname (or at least suggest she can do it when she's old enough). “At least they won't have the same full name, and she can get some distance from her creepy father.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

The U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant says suspected state-backed Chinese hackers exploited a vulnerability in a popular email security appliance to break into the networks of hundreds of public and private sector organizations globally, nearly a third of them government agencies including foreign ministries

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Vladimir Putin’s forces have unleashed “waves” of drone strikes on Ukraine’s capital city for a second consecutive night, Kyiv’s military has said. Russia’s intensified attacks on Kyiv came after weeks of pause, as fighting continues to rage at hotspots along the vast frontline, with both sides hoping to make tactical gains before winter sets in. After securing multiple footholds on the eastern bank, Ukrainian troops have worked to push back Russian forces at the Dnipro River, with their military claiming to have repelled 12 attacks over the weekend. Mr Putin has lost around a brigade’s worth of forces there in a month, claims Kyiv. Meanwhile, Russia is suffering “particularly heavy losses” on the Donetsk frontline as it seeks to capture the tactically key Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, with cluster munitions hampering both sides’ ability to advance, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said on Saturday. But neither side has achieved substantial progress in any fighting hotspot, and “there are few immediate prospects of major changes in the frontline” as colder winter weather sets in earnest in eastern Ukraine, the ministry said. Read More David Cameron meets Zelensky in Ukraine in first visit as foreign secretary – and praises Boris Johnson In Russia, more Kremlin critics are being imprisoned as intolerance of dissent grows Russian court convicts a woman for protesting the war in Ukraine in latest crackdown on free speech Bombs, betrayal and burying loved ones: Plight of one Ukraine village illustrates toll of Russia’s invasion